Music And Society. The Mega Quiz

Rembetika

Traditional Cretese music

Any music written for the instrument bouzouki

What Americans of Greek origin considered authentic Greek music

Answers a, b, d, and f are right

Though he played bouzouki in certain years, he was a violinist

He was a landowner and an amateur musician

He was an employee of certain aristocratic families in Vienna

He was an independent musician, though he lived also thank to the patronage of Viennese patrician families

He was an independent musician who lived only off the money that he generated through the concerts that he organised and the royalties of his publications

It depends on the patronage of a given ruler

It is by nature exceptional and unique (not to be reproduced or staged over and over)

It celebrates an important official event

It is reserved to a selected audience, each of whose member had been invited by the ruler

None of these definitions is correct

All of these definitions are correct, with the exception of e

The main goal of those involved in its production was to make money

It was by nature serial and to be staged over and over

It did not celebrate anything

Anybody who could afford to pay the ticket could attend the performances

It was sung only by castrati

All of the previous definitions are correct, with the sole exception of e

None of these definitions is correct

A specific site (city, neighbourhood, venue, etc.) were a specific kind of music is performed

A cluster of music groups sharing the same characteristics in the same years, sometimes in exactly the same place(s)

The context in which clusters of producers, musicians, and fans collectively share their common musical tastes and collectively distinguish themselves from others

Is synonymous with stage

None of the definitions is correct

An Afro-American music

It is based on texts of sadness, exploitation, misery set to a specific music

It is based on a mixture of minor and major scales

It is based on 12 bar musical phrases

All the definitions are correct

It is fast and plaid high volume

It is based on elementary chords and rhythms – though it has become more and more complex over the years

It is a protest music

It is experimental music

It has no strong political connotations

It is a music based on the idea of rejection: of conventions, of rock and roll conventions, of social rules, of the system as a whole

Answers a, b, c, f are correct

Answers a, b, d, and e are correct

It is sung and plaid by musicians of Yemenite origin

It is the music of the lower classes, often of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origins

The singers sing with a nasal quality of the voice

It is based on standard Western popular music forms coupled with different Arabic, Greek, and Turkish musical elements

The harmony is static, with wide spread use of Arabic cyclic rhythmic patterns

An abundant use of vocal trilling

All the answers are correct

Though answers a and b are partially right, the correct answers are c, d, e, f

It comes from the latin divus (feminine, diva)– that is, divine

It is a different name for prima donnas (first women) of a given vocal musical ensemble, mostly in opera

It denotes capricious, unpredictable, voluble behaviour

All the answers are correct

A creator

Someone who creates out of nothing

Someone who leads others to create together something, while those who do take part in the creation, are largely unaware of the ultimate goal of the demiurge

Though a and b are correct, answer c is the most comprehensive and correct of all

Any music other than opera

Instrumental as well as vocal music performed in aristocratic venues and circles

Music that is written in a complex way, so that only connoisseurs can truly relate to it

Music that is not made just to entertain the audience, but rather to compel the listeners to tune in to its complex structure

In Haydn’s words (Eroica documentary movie), music whose intent was “to strike a balance between the intellect and the soul”. Beethoven however took a path more oriented towards exploring, expressing, enquiring the soul

None of the above answers is correct

Answers c, d, e are correct

All the answers are correct

Because they did not conform to social norms

Rebetiko’s texts were dimmed unfit to be heard, its music too Oriental and coarse; Arabeske had music either too Oriental, or too pop, and the texts were too much focused on personal defeats and resignation; Mizrahit was considered vulgar, too Oriental, not refined, an not contributing to the building of a new, indigenous Israeli culture

Answer b is correct but there is no mention of a common factor, that exists, and it is the fact that all three countries considered themselves for many years countries in the process of turning into real, new/old nations. Popular cultural therefore, music included, had to conform to specific aesthetic norms and cultural values

None of the above answers is correct, each of these phenomena must be judged on its own

All the answers are correct, with the exception of answer d

He had to move quite often because of external circumstances and personal choices. In each new place he had to adapt himself and his music to the current tastes of the place. His case is exemplar because he shows two important things: that popular music has individual protagonists and not only collective ones; and that also in this framework (ethnic musics), a musician is always conditioned by his social and cultural environment

His case is just as different from Beethoven’s as one can possibly imagine. This is why he is one of our course’s subjects, and he has been examined alongside Beethoven’s genius. As to his musical changes, they were born out of curiosity

He was a creative genius not less than Beethoven. As to his switching between different genres, it was due to his eclectic attitude and curiosity, which further proves his musical genius

Whatever Papadakis did, changes and switches included, was the norm among rebetiko and Cretese musicians. That is why we considered his case exemplar

Enchantment produced by singing and wonder caused by the scenography were both indispensable ingredients to the success of any given opera

Arias were enchanting because during their performance time stood still. Their performance was mostly given on the fore-stage, because they had little to do with the plot. They were a pure expression of an abstract feeling produced by the most moving of all instruments, the human voice. The scenography and its machinery also were the source of major wonder

Though answers a and b are absolutely right, they do not address the common factor, i.e., the need of the society to see itself as an enchanted world, whereby everything is exceptional. From this point of view, opera wasn’t, but a very effective mirror of a desire turned into self-image

Answers a and b are correct. There isn’t any common factor unifying the two features, that both contributed to make any opera performance special

None of the above answers is correct

Authenticity was a key factor in the decision made by the direction of the Greek public radio in the 1970s to ban Costas Papadakis because he plaid the violin, an instrument considered foreign to the authentic Cretan musical tradition, even though it features prominently in music performances on the island since more than 4 centuries

Authenticity is a key factor in musical tourism in Chicago. People want to experience the real, authentic Chicago blues and jazz. Venues for this two different kinds of music are supposed to have specific characteristics

Answers a and b are correct. Authenticity is often the key word for taking a specific phenomenon that took place in a given place at a given time, and make it an immutable point of reference. This notion of authenticity is exclusive and tends to ignore the complexity of real, ongoing phenomena. Authenticity is also sometimes synonymous with true. The truth it refers to is a construct

All the above answers are not correct

Authenticity was the key word in the fight waged by Haydn’s followers against Beethoven. They claimed that his music was lacking authentic feeling

Authenticity is what characterises the life and art of Maria Callas and Britney Spears in the eyes of their followers

There are no differences at all. British and USA punk labels distribute bands that musically and politically are mutually interchangeable.

Answer a is correct, under certain respects. The differences lie in the fact that independent British labels tend to bankrupt, Americans not. It stems from the fact the Brits live in a society marked by strong class differences, where social solidarity within one’s social class is more important than anything else. The Americans live in a culture that puts strong emphasis on personal responsibility, stressing the need to survive by yourself at any cost

The main differences across the Atlantic Ocean lie in the musical and political differences between British and American bands. Whereas British band are much more political and outspoken, their music being much less refined and actually coarse than that of American bands, the USA groups focus more on the musical quality of their performances

All the answers are partially right. None however is satisfactory enough

It was a musical school, characterised by a soft and mellow sound and many experimentations. It was not a music scene

It was a virtual music scene, invented/created by the press

Though it was a virtual music scene, the bands labelled as Canterbury School were actually made by people who grew up in the Canterbury area in England

The bands had little in common, but they were all experimental in nature, they all blended pop and rock elements with folk, jazz, electronic music. Most of their pieces were quite long and defied the LP format

The media and the market are in constant need of labelling phenomena. Labelling means also marketing. Hence the sometimes artificial creation of countless sub-genres, such as the Canterbury School

All the previous answers are correct

All the previous answers are correct, with the exception of a and f

Simulacrum is an image of the sacred. As if it’s the sacred being. Divas are divine by definition, of this world and not of this world. They bring the audience into a different dimension. The audience adores a simulacrum. It is the medium to a transcendent dimension. The press allows the audience to share the simulacrum, to devour pieces of it by plunging into his/her private dimension

Simulacrum is an interesting and brilliant metaphor of the diva-like being and experience. Yet, the two dimensions do not share anything. The press provides the audience gossip about divas

The whole question is absolutely out of place

Answers a and b are both somehow correct, but only in part

The question is not out of place, and yet the answer are not correct at all. All of them

Because she is an image to a sound that has become a commodity

Because of her sexual ambiguity – virgin and sexy, innocent and lascivious , so common and middle class and yet diva like

Because she successfully placed herself at the intersection of fashion and music

Because she it the perfect example of how the mass media and the entertainment industry converge in creating a series of illusions that are in turn functional to the making of a brand and therefore of a commodity

Because she is the most typical example of a person made into an image, and the image becomes the commodity

Because she is a star with no talent

All the above answers are correct, with the exception of answer f

Herbert von Karajan does not make any effort to establish an eye-to-eye communication with the players. He seems to be wanting to keep a distance

He is very kind and respectful towards the orchestra members

Though extremely courteous on a formal level, von Karajan treats the musicians like necessary appendixes who must carry on his orders

Answers a and c are correct

Though correct, answers a and c do not address the fact that von Karajan through the films about his rehearsals wants to communicate how much he is in control of even the most minute of all details, and how every performance isn’t but the perfect implementation of his will and vision

Though correct, answers a and c do not explain the very simple fact that von Karajan wants just to show how he works

Answer f is simplistic. Answer e is correct and almost complete. Von Karajan is the epitome of the conductor as the role model of a leader in an authoritarian society (Adorno)

None of the answer is either correct or complete

Not at all. They are such different music genres, that they hardly share anything

Though extremely different one from another, all these phenomena have been investigated during the course as music scenes

One can say that blues laid the foundations of both jazz and rock, and therefore, indirectly, of punk and Canterbury school music as well

Chicago blues and Chicago jazz are linked by way of sharing a common origin place, the other two phenomena are both from UK

Among the music genres that we have been dealing with, punk rock is the only one that was characterised by strong political intentions since its onset

Rebetiko, Musiqa Mizrahit, Punk rock all have strong political connotations

We examined the social implications of each genre, but none of them was explicitly political

Though only indirectly, Italian opera is perhaps the genre with the strongest political connotations

A Greek popular music genre

Greek music genre where the bouzouki features in a prominent way

Greek popular music that originated on the Asian shore of the Aegean sea (Smirna or Izmir)

Greek popular music that thrived in sea cities with a port (Istanbul, Smirna, Piraeus)

Music made mostly by Greek refugees from Asia Minor that were forced to migrate to Greek mainland in the 1920s

It is made by songs with a very sad connotation that tell stories of tragic love and exploitation

Though made by ethnic Greeks, Rebetiko has very strong Turkish features

All of the above

None of the above

Because symphonies were considered the loftiest of all musical expressions

Because the performance of symphonies always attracted large numbers of music lovers and connoisseurs

Because symphonies were by nature destined to large audiences and therefore could make Beethoven’s new and original music ideas known to many

All of the above

None of the above

There are actually no relevant differences between the two

Commercial opera was open to anybody who could pay the ticket, aristocratic opera was by invitation only

Aristocratic opera was made to mark some event connected to the life of the ruler, and was intended to be a one time, exceptional event; commercial opera did not mark anything and was serial

Answers b and c are correct

Maria Callas was an American singer and an authentic diva: that is why we dealt with her

Maria Callas was an important opera singer. Though not gifted with an outstanding voice, she had impressive dramatic skills and an unforgettable presence on the stage. We dealt with her because her performances on European and American scenes marked a return towards appreciating opera as musical drama

Maria Callas was the first opera singer who, consciously or not, created a glamorous image of herself, thus becoming the main focus of attention for gossip oriented media

We dealt with her because of the short cut that resulted from the overlapping of the tragic characters that she plaid on stage, and her tragic life

None of the above answers is correct

All the above answers are correct, with the sole exception of e

Because he plaid traditional Cretan music where violin and strophic forms inherited by Italian repertoires feature prominently, and the Greek musical establishment was looking for pure, uncontaminated Greek musical expressions

Because he plaid rebetiko, a genre that the establishment in the 1970s still considered too Turkish and vulgar

That he was rejected, it is not true at all. He was welcome with open arms

Because throughout his long artistic life he had travelled to far too many places and had absorbed far too many different Greek musical styles

None of the answers is correct

Of the punk rock movement

Of any given trend in rock music

Of music scenes

Of the Canterbury school

It applies equally well to each and all of the above alternatives

None of the answers is correct

Emasculated singers whose peculiar and impressive voice qualities were largely sought after in the late 17th and throughout the 18th century

A very weird definition for a particular soprano range. They dominated 19th century opera

The real divas of the 18th century

The most famous and virtuoso singers in 18th century opera

Answers a, c, d are correct

None of the above

Aristocratic

Dramatic

Comic

Commercial

Farce

Venice just happened to be the place where most operas were produced on that time. No particular genre was born there

The bands of the so-called Canterbury School often set to music texts whose content revolved around these themes

Illusion and Enchantment were two major characteristics of 17th and 18th century Italian opera

Illusion and enchantment have mostly to do with the illusional/delusional dimension that divas create and inhabit

Answers b and c are both correct

We never met any of these dimensions

Punk rock is the antithesis of such dimensions. We met them there, but as negatives that punk rock dispelled

There are some striking similarities among the two cases. Both Callas and Spears used the media to create an image of themselves that turned into a branding. All this was meant to further enhance their respective supremacies in their respective music field

Maria Callas tried (successfully) to create a glamorous image of herself. This image was meant by her, among other things, to further enhance her status as a diva. All this backfired against her for many reasons. Britney Spears picks up music pieces that conform to her image, and uses the music she performs to strengthen herself as a brand

Both answers are correct

None of the answers is correct, it is impossible to compare the two of them

High volume performances, concerts that are events for a defined group

Very low musical quality, or, better, musical quality has no importance

A strong anti system ideology, that is directed against the rock system as well

An ideology of rejection, of not being included or counted in any way

An open dress code, that contemplates however a number of distinctive traits/features

The building of alternative, self managed channels and nets

Each of the above answers presents one of the main features of punk scene(s)

To begin with, one must say that it was a bizarre choice. One of the basic tenets of performance arts is NOT to show what is behind any specific work/ performance

In spite of what is written in answer a, von Karajan wanted to show the audience the tremendous mastership of the orchestra that he wields

There is a further reason to be added to what is written in answer b (and a, of course): by showing how he works behind the scenes, von Karajan wanted to show the audience that the marvellous outcome of his performances depended solely on him

One must also take into consideration that, while showing how he works on even the most minute of all details, von Karajan never reveals in full his vision of the piece to be performed

The reason is much simpler than what is written in the above answers: von Karajan was intent at creating a kind of cult of his own personality, and the rehearsals videos were instrumental in that

All the above answers are correct, except e

All the above answers are correct, except f

Demiurge is a mythical figure that attracts and lures the attentions of his/her fans, up to making them accessories to his/her cult: i.e., a rock star

A demiurge is a creator. From this point of view, all the major figures we encountered or dealt with during the course, are demiurges. Beethoven, Papadakis, Maria Callas, Britney Spears, Italian opera’s castrati, Herbert von Karajan, etc.

A typical demiurge is the bell caster in Andreij Tarkovskij’s movie Andreij Rublev

A demiurge is a manipulator of the masses. From this point of view, one may safely say that the entertainment business and the mass media aren’t, but a giant demiurge

Though the original Greek word meant something different, today the demiurge is someone who creates something out of almost nothing. The connotation is that of a man/woman of vision, who is capable to directing others towards achieving a bigger than life goal

A great film or theatre director, an exceptional orchestra conductor, some visual artists who work on large scale projects: all these are typical demiurges in the modern sense of the world

A combination of correct yet partial answers e, f, and c – in this precise order: this is the right answer to the question

None of the answers is correct

Performances of the kind of jazz and blues music, respectively, that made Chicago famous in the world

A kind of travel in time, back to the years when distinctive music styles were born in Chicago

An all-encompassing experience that goes beyond pure listening, but includes also the “atmosphere” of bygone years

A thrilling musical and extra musical experience

The “musical tourists” who go to Chicago looking for jazz and blues make themselves believe that the same atmosphere that characterised the years when that kind of blues and jazz were played, is still hanging there around and that the music performances that they will hear will be as alive and connected to their own time and society as they were in bygone years

All the above answers are correct

None of the above provides a satisfactory enough answer, even if we combine more than options together

Because orchestra players are totally dependent on him during the performance, as much as a totalitarian society should be totally dependent on the leader to move towards anything and act as a consistent, harmonious collective

Because in an orchestra there is a peculiar interaction between the conductor and the musicians. The conductor could not do anything without the musicians and their skill and expertise, while the musicians could not produce any consistent sound, least perform anything beautiful, without the guidance of the conductor

Because the conductor, like the leader in an authoritarian society, is the only one who can envision a common goal and knows how to direct anybody towards achieving that goal

Because a music conductor like von Karajan has a precise vision of where to go and how: he knows how to excite the musicians and make them feel how noble and high and unique and special is what they are doing at the moment they are doing it, yet withholding any precise information from them, while at the same time giving very precise instructions as to specific technical details with extreme mastery

All the above answers combined together give at least a satisfactory answer to the question

The answer is simple: an orchestra conductor is much more nice to market, than a military leader

Because art in general and music art in particular is about something much more elevated, uplifting, inspiring, and lofty than just military victory

One must add answers g and f to answer e to provide a right though still partial answer

Mainly, entertainment

To be more precise, an all encompassing form of entertainment, that could also let people mingle, chat, entertain themselves also beyond what was proposed on stage

Besides what is written in answer b, Italian society in an opera looked for amazement, enchantment, wonder

Answer c is right, but one must also add that the society was looking at itself in the opera. Opera was a mirror, and had to give back to the audience an enchanted, fabulous image of themselves and their social surrounding

The audience was looking mainly for a kind of religious trance that might result from attending to an opera performance

The society of that time was looking for ways to vent its dissatisfaction with the political and social system, and it found them in opera

All the answers are correct

None of the answers is correct

If by “contemporaries and predecessors” one means F. J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart, F. Schubert, the music of Beethoven is different from theirs as a matter of individual style, as much as The Rolling Stones are different from The Who, but one can safely place them in the same category

If, on the other hand, by “contemporaries and predecessors” one means composers who are mostly unknown today and who focused on producing a kind of circus-like amazing and amusing performances, then the music of Beethoven is different in that it is highly individual: it presents previously unheard of formal and harmonic solutions; it is inspired by philosophy and poetry; it is serious, compelling, deep

While both answers are correct, the reasons that made Beethoven highly original lie in many factors: his undoubtable genius and strong personality; the higher accessibility to music by larger groups and classes; the growing influence exerted by pre-Romantic ideologies with their strong emphasis on individual expression and the need to dig deep into the human soul; in the light of all this, the necessity for aristocrats to distinguish themselves from the bourgeoisie by cultivating an even more serious, refined, difficult, compelling kind of music, which Beethoven was both able and willing to supply

None of the answers is even remotely satisfactory